Armstrong Legal Family Law Blog
Fresh insights into issues families face when relationships break down
From the category archives:
In a recent Family Court decision, her Honour Justice Rees has taken what at first blush might seem the extraordinary step of banning a mother from attending at her child’s school. With a closer understanding of the facts of the case, the Judge’s decision is, perhaps, not quite so surprising.
The case, known by the Court as Materanzi… Read more
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Arguably relocation matters are the most difficult cases for a Court to decide the children’s best interest. The Court has a wide discretion in determining parenting matters, referring to the factors listed in Section 60CC of the Family Law Act.
Considerations that may weaken an application to relocate include the following:
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In an article by Caroline Overington, published in the Weekend Australian on 11 February 2012, “The Wedding Vow”, the issue of forced marriage in relation to children is discussed.
A large portion of the article focuses on an interview Overington had with Dr Emran Sharobeen, who herself was promised to her cousin from the age of 14 years.… Read more
Does your child have a medical condition that makes it difficult for them to travel long distances? Does the other parent live a long way from you so that long hours in the car is a must to meet them for changeover? It is very common that children suffer from medical conditions which mean it is difficult for them… Read more
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On 28 November 2011, Nine MSN reported that an Australian mother has been forced to pay her ex-husband almost $13,000 in previously paid child support after the father secretly had a DNA test done and confirmed that he was not the father of his 14 year old son.
In Court, the father stated that he had sought the DNA… Read more
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There can be serious penalties imposed for a conviction of contempt, including imprisonment. In an appeal court case of Rossi & Commissioner of Police [2011], a mother was found to have knowingly contravened three parenting orders, after taking her child from school during the morning break and taking him to Adelaide. When police entered the premises, the… Read more
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Many parents don’t know that there are different methods for paying Child Support to the other parent. One method is “Private Collect”. This is where the parents transfer child support payments between themselves. You can choose the private collect payment method when there is a court order that is registered, a child support assessment has been issued… Read more
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An article published in the Australian and written by Carolyn Overington on 24 November 2011, reports on a recent Queensland case in which the full bench of the Family Court found that shared care was not appropriate in relation to a five year old girl.
Allegations of violence and emotional abuse were made by both parents, however the Court found that given the… Read more
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Have you ever wanted to change your child’s surname or wanted your child to have a hyphenated surname, for example, “Smith-Jones”?
What can you do if you do not agree with the child’s other parent about a particular surname? You may be surprised to learn that people do raise this as an issue in family law litigation.
… Read more
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In the recent case of Cappetto & Cappetto No.3 [2011] FamCA 345, his Honourable Justice Watts made findings about what parent the children should live with. The children in this case were referred to as “B,” 5 years and 8 months old and “S,” 3 years and 10 months old.
The Applicant Father wanted sole parental responsibility. The Independent Children’s… Read more
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